The Moon - on the Screen

Updated on February 14, 2014

ET The Extraterrestrial

Destination Moon (1950) poster

A Visual Trip to the Moon as seen in the Movies from 1902 to 2012.

Moon Facts - The Moon formed about the same time as the Earth 4.5 billion years ago...Only 59% of the Moons surface is visible from Earth...It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System...The Moon is egg shaped ...With a diameter of 2140 miles the Moon is about a quarter the size of Earth...Gravity on the Moon is 1/6th that of Earth...The Moon is only about 238,857 miles from the Earth...The first man-made object to reach the moon was the Soviet space probe Luna 2 which crashed onto the Moons surface in 1959...Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on the Sea of Tranquility on 20th July 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the Moon, followed by Buzz Aldrin...There have been 6 successful Moon Landings and 12 men have walked on it's surface. The last mission was Apollo 17 which landed in December 1972...Apollo 11 took 3 days and 3 hours to reach the Moon...NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto launched in 2006 passed our Moon in just 8 hours 35mins, at 36,373mph it was the fastest ever launch speed for a man-made object and should reach Pluto in 2015 ...Driving a car to the Moon would take about 130 days...The Moon is not made of cheese and moondust smells like gunpowder.

A Trip to the Moon

A Trip to the Moon

George Melies A Trip to the Moon(1902), historically the first attempt to tell a science fiction story on film. And at 13 minutes was the longest film ever made at the time.

It was based on Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and H.G. Wells First Men in the Moon (1901).

Woman in the Moon

Woman in the Moon - poster

Two years after his groundbreaking sci-fi opus Metropolis (1927) Fritz Lang directed Woman in the Moon (Frau im Mond 1929). A scientist discovers that there is gold on the moon and together with a wealthy businessman and an engineer build a rocket to take them to the moon. A friend of the engineer, a young woman, joins the expedition, along with a little boy who has stowed away on board the rocket.

Munchausen (1943)

Munchausen (1943) poster

Munchausen (1943) a German film directed by Josef von Baky. Made during the Second World War and featuring the adventures of that teller of tall tales Baron Hieronymous von Munchausen here played by Hans Albers,

In one episode he journeys to the moon where he meets the Man on the Moon and his wife who can separate her head from her body and be in two places at the same time. A classic fantasy with lavish sets, great photography and rich colour.

Destination Moon

Destination Moon

Destination Moon

Destination Moon(1950) directed by Irving Pichel and produced by George Pal. Americans are planning the first ever mission to the moon (ignoring the fact that Melies, the Germans and Baron Munchausen had got there before them).

A rocket blasts off with four astronauts on board, they land and pose for a few pictures, they than discover to their horror that they haven’t saved enough fuel for the return journey! And the nearest gas station is hundreds of thousands of miles away.

Radar Men from the Moon

Radar Men from the Moon - poster

A serial in 12 chapters. Radar Men from the Moon (1952) directed by Fred C. Brannon. When America finds itself under attack from an unknown weapon that destroys its military bases Commando Cody finds out the enemy is on our own Moon, he rockets there and discovers the moon's dictator Retik has plans to conquer our planet and move his minions here. Cody beats the stuffing out of him.

Cat-Women of the Moon - poster

Cat-Women of the Moon (1953) directed by Arthur Hilton. Astronauts land on the moon and find that it is inhabited by young women wearing black tights! Unfortunately they also encounter giant moon spiders. Music by Elmer Bernstein, one of his first scores. The film was originally made in 3-D.

From the Earth to the Moon - poster

Based on Jules Verne's novel, From the Earth to the Moon (1958) was directed by Byron Haskin and starred Joseph Cotten, Debra Paget and George Sanders. Cotten and Sanders build a rocket to take them to the moon using a powerful new explosive and the hardest metal in existence.

They blast off into space with Paget and a young assistant joining them. Sanders tries to sabotage the mission and ends up on a one way trip to the moon with Cotten while the young couple make it back to Earth safely.

12 to the Moon - poster

12 to the Moon (1960) directed by David Bradley. Ten men, two women, two cats, two monkeys and a dog enter a rocket and fly off to the moon. Upon landing on the lunar surface, they discover gold, traces of air, and evidence of a mysterious civilization living under the surface. The unfriendly moon people wants them off the moon as soon as possible.

The crew leave the moon but discover that North America has been turned to ice by those sneaky moon people! To thaw it out, two crew members undertake a suicide mission and steer an atomic bomb into a Mexican volcano. A massive explosion succeeds in thawing North America and this act of self-sacrifice convinces the moon people that we Earthlings aren't so bad after all.

Nude on the Moon - poster

Nude on the Moon (1961) directed by Raymond Phelan and Doris Wishman. Astronauts landing on the moon are captured by a colony of lunar nudists. After some frisky shenanigans they reluctantly have to return home to Earth. Unluckily they forget their camera on the moon.

A cult sexploitation film though the title is misleading the girls were merely topless.

Mouse on the Moon

Mouse on the Moon (1963) directed by Richard Lester and starring Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Bernard Cribbins and Terry-Thomas. The tiny country of Grand Fenwick has plumbing problems. They request foreign aid from the U.S. for Space Research so they can use the money to fix their plumbing. While the grand Duke is dreaming of hot baths, their top scientist is busy building a rocket. The U.S. and Russians find out of an impending launch from Fenwick and try to beat them to the moon.

A sequel to The Mouse That Roared (1959).

First Men in the Moon

First Men in the Moon

First Men in the Moon - poster

Based on H.G. Well's novel, First Men in the Moon (1964) was directed by Nathan Juran and starred Edward Judd, Martha Hyer and Lionel Jeffries. US Astronauts land on the moon and to their surprise find an old British flag already planted there.

1899, and inventor Joseph Cavor creates a substance which resists gravity, he calls it cavorite. Teaming up with Arnold Bedford they build a sphere which they coat with cavorite and along with Bedford's fiancé Kate blast off to the moon. There they encounter the Selenites, an insect-like civilisation. Cavor decides to stay on the moon while Arnold and Kate return to Earth.

Excellent special effects by stop motion maestro Ray Harryhausen.

Countdown (1968) - poster

Countdown (1968)

Countdown (1968) directed by Robert Altman and starring James Caan and Robert Duvall. Desperate to be the first nation to send a man to the moon America prepares astronaut Robert Duvall for the mission but he is ultimately replaced by James Caan because of his military background. Meanwhile the Russians have already sent a three man crew into orbit around the moon.

2001 A Space Odyssey

2001 A Space Odyssey

2001 A Space Odyssey

2001 A Space Odyssey - poster

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and William Sylvester. The year 2001 and a 4 million year old black monolith is discovered on the moon deliberately buried in the crater Tycho. When examining the monolith it emits an ear-piercing radio signal, which is directed towards Jupiter.

Screenplay by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke based on the short story The Sentinel by Clarke. The astonishing visual effects won an Oscar.

Moon Zero Two (1969) poster

Moon Zero Two - poster

Moon Zero Two (1969) directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring James Olson, Catherine Schell and Warren Mitchell. A space western made by the Hammer studios. It's 2021 and Kemp and Karminski are a couple of moon pilots who make a living collecting space junk and ferrying passengers aboard their battered old space shuttle Moon Zero Two. They while away their free time at a saloon bar in Moon City.

Space 1999

Space 1999 (1975-1977) Starring Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. A TV series but I had to include it. The year 1999 and the moon is torn out of Earth's orbit by a massive nuclear explosion, sending Moon Base Alpha and it's crew on a journey through space.

Unusual premise instead of a giant spaceship it's our moon that encounters strange new worlds as it moves from system to system. Since it takes years even at the speed of light to reach the nearest star system how does the moon manage to travel so fast?

Superman II

Superman II (1981) directed by Richard Lester and starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder and Terence Stamp. General Zod, Ursa and Non arrive at the Moon after escaping the Phantom Zone. They dispose of some astronauts and fly off to Earth where Superman is in the process of giving up his superpowers to be with Lois Lane.

Superman IV The Quest for Peace

Superman IV The Quest for Peace (1987) directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jon Cryer and Mark Pillow. Lex Luthor creates Nuclear Man using DNA from a strand of Superman's hair. Nuclear Man battles Superman on the Moon at one point in the film.

Generally considered one of the worst movies ever made with some of the worst special effects seen on film.

On his adventures Baron Munchausen encounters 18 year old Uma Thurman as Venus, Oliver Reed as Vulcan and Robin Williams as the King of the Moon. Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Apollo 13

Apollo 13

Apollo 13 (1995) directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise and Ed Harris. Based on real events, a malfunction aboard Apollo 13 during it's mission to the moon cripples the spacecraft and there is a race against time to fix the problem and avert a tragedy.

Nominated for 9 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Visual Effects.

Austin Powers

Austin Powers

"Mini Me, stop humping the giant laser. Honest to God! Why don't you and the giant laser get a fricken room for God's sakes?"

Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) directed by Jay Roach and starring Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe and Seth Green. Dr. Evil is at his moon base threatening the Earth with a giant laser cannon. Only Austin Powers and Felicity Shagwell stand in his way.

Ivana: My name is Ivana, Ivana Humpalot.Austin:Come again?Ivana: Ivana Humpalot.Austin:Well I vana toilet made out of solid gold, but it's just not in the cards now is it?

Space Cowboys

Space Cowboys - poster

Space Cowboys (2000) directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner and James Cromwell. Geriatrics in Space! An old Russian satellite armed with nuclear missiles, a relic of the cold war, will soon crash down on Earth. And four ex-astronauts are sent up in space to try to save the day They succeed but only after one of them sacrifices himself steering the satellite towards a crash landing on the moon.

Pluto Nash

Pluto Nash

The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) directed by Ron Underwood and starring Eddie Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Randy Quaid and Peter Boyle. On lunar colony Little America Pluto Nash's nightclub Club Pluto is destroyed after he refuses to sell to some gangsters. Pluto goes after the perpetrators.

Moon (2009) directed by Duncan Jones and starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey as the voice of GERTY. Sam Bell is the sole employee of Lunar Industries at their lunar base. His only companion is the station computer GERTY. After an accident while out working he wakes to find that he is no longer alone on the base.

Critically acclaimed first feature film from Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie. Won British Academy Award - Best Film Debut by a British director, writer or producer. Nominated for Outstanding British Film.

Transformers Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf, John Turturro, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey and Frances McDormand. A crashed alien spacecraft is discovered on the moon. The Autobots, Decepticons and the US military are desperate to learn its secrets. The final battle in Chicago takes up nearly an hour of film.

The film cost $195m to make and finished 2011 with a $1.1billion worldwide gross. Filmed in 3-D and nominated for three Oscars.

Apollo 18

Apollo 18 (2011) directed by Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego and starring Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen and Ryan Robbins. Video footage is found of a supposedly abandoned Apollo mission to the moon. The footage shows Apollo 18 landing successfully on the moon and the astronauts discovering footprints which leads them to a dead cosmonaut. They are told to continue the mission. The next day they find the flag they had planted is missing and they prepare to leave, one of the astronauts notices a spiderlike creature crawling inside his space helmet and starts to scream. Outside, the moon rocks start to move...

Breen, that's right and the moon is our Earth's closest companion, our buddy, a fellow traveller lighting up the the night sky. Man hasn't found a way to hurt it yet.

rabbit75, I haven't seen some of those old movies, writing about them has got me interested in checking some out.

Flora, let's see... James Garner is in Space Cowboys so you couldn't miss that. Austin Powers wasn't your cup of tea, it's crude and lewd but it made me laugh.

I am surprised you never saw Mouse on the Moon an Ealing type comedy starring Margaret Rutherford.

Not as funny as the first one The Mouse that Roared which starred Peter Sellers, taking up multiple roles as usual and played the part Rutherford plays in the sequel the Grand Duchess. Both are recommended for a quiet sunday afternoon viewing.

Carlon Michelle, it took me ages to do this one, well actually two days but that's ages when you have other things to do too. I'm happy you liked it.

Thanks all for posting.

DIYmyOmy 4 years ago from Philadelphia, PA

Wow, great topic and fabulous article! Loved the illustrations, too. Voted up and awesomed it. And thanks for including Metropolis, one of my favorite films (and for which I just posted a review here on Hubpages) Thanks!

Steve Lensman 4 years ago from London, England Author

Thank you DIYmyOmy, your comment and vote is appreciated. One of my first hubs was for Fritz Lang's Metropolis, we film buffs seem to gravitate towards that seminal film.

DIYmyOmy 4 years ago from Philadelphia, PA

I agree, Steve. If someone tells me they enjoy movies but have never seen Metropolis I smile, but inwardly sort of go, duhhhhhh..........

Jools99 4 years ago from North-East UK

Steve, another corker, great photos and info. I haven't seen too many of these but my favourites of those I have is Apollo 13, closely followed by The Spy Who Shagged Me which I saw at the cinema with friends and laughed at all the way through - I am an Austin Powers fan!

Steve Lensman 4 years ago from London, England Author

Oh behave! Thanks Jools, good to see a fan of Austin Powers here, silly films but when I feel like a good giggle I put one of those in the player.

DIYmyOmy, I know what you mean. :)

Cogerson 4 years ago from Virginia

What a wonderful trip through the history of movies and the moon. Sadly I most admit that many of the movies in the first third of your hub I am not aware of....but I was glad to see A Trip To The Moon...aka the Hugo movie...lol.

Countdown with James Caan and Robert Duvall is a movie that I always wanted to see but have not yet seen. This 2001: A Space Odyssey is it a comedy?....lol. Favorites of the movies you have listed...Apollo 13(Tom Hanks), Moon(Rockwell should have been nominated for his many roles in that one), 2001(an all-time classic), and Space Cowboys(is Tommy Lee still on the moon?).

Loved the photos and the movie posters....as always a wonderful job by my friend in the United Kingdom....hey the Giants beat the Patriots to win SuperBowl 46.

Steve Lensman 4 years ago from London, England Author

What is this Superbowl you speak of Bruce? [cue gasps and some hair pulling] Is it something for the kitchen? Hey thanks for posting in my lunarhub, appreciate the comment and kind words amigo.

Yes Tommy Lee Jones is still on the moon. I liked Moon too. Duncan Jones next film Source Code was good too.

So Caan and Duvall had starred together as astronauts in Countdown before becoming brothers in The Godfather, they made another film together, The Killer Elite, I think directed by Sam Peckinpah.

Cogerson 4 years ago from Virginia

Hey Steve...and do not forget Rain People which starred Caan and Duvall and directed by Francis Ford Coppola....which was probably one of the reasons they got their parts in The Godfather...as Rain People was about three before Godfather.

Steve Lensman 4 years ago from London, England Author

Were they both in Rain People? Didn't know, thanks for the info. Four films together, must have been good friends.

FloraBreenRobison 4 years ago

Oh, I'll see the Margaret Rutherford film eventually. I have seen the film to which it was a sequel already.

My problem with Austin Powers franchise is I am not much for gross humour. I do enjoy spy spoofs in general, though. I love the Matt Helms and Flint films.

FloraBreenRobison 4 years ago

Regarding the posters:

I love all the posters with bright bold colours. Nude on the Moon is very art nouveau. But my favourite is the one for Munchausen.

Steve Lensman 4 years ago from London, England Author

Flora, thanks for posting. I just checked Youtube and they have Nude on the Moon for viewing, wow! I had a peek and yes there are boobs on the moon. I'll go and make some coffee and watch the rest of my movie... ;)

Robwrite 4 years ago from Bay Ridge Brooklyn NY

Hi Steve; I'm glad you included "Space: 1999", even thought it's a TV show. I used to really like that show back in the 70's. In retrospect, it wasn't a great show but it's a nostalgiac favorite.

Lots of good, campy films here. Good to see Commando Cody on the list. And "A trip tp the Moon" has had a resurgeance of popularity ever since "Hugo" came out.

Well researched and great pictures,

Rob

Steve Lensman 4 years ago from London, England Author

Thanks for posting Rob, appreciate the comment. When I came to Space 1999 I just couldn't ignore it. The moon was an important part of the series. I was tempted to add UFO to the line up too but one Gerry Anderson show was enough.

FatFreddysCat 4 years ago from The Garden State

I just saw the trailer for "Iron Sky" and it looks completely insane. I have to see it!!! Unfortunately, it looks like it doesn't have American distribution at the moment. :(

Steve Lensman 4 years ago from London, England Author

I saw that trailer it looks great. I want to see Iron Sky now! Release it straight to Blu-ray I'll blind buy it. :)

Thanks for posting.

William Robb 2 years ago from Walsall

You should probably add that the moon was formed from the earth after a proto planet collided with us, this fact is in several documentaries one called How the universe works and another called Stephen Hawkins Universe (guess who narrates lol)